


Shock to the System

by chloe_luke



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-08 02:23:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8826709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chloe_luke/pseuds/chloe_luke
Summary: When one of them is hurt, how will the other cope with the possiblity of living without them?





	1. Chapter 1

He honestly found it rather ironic that the worst day of his life could start out so mundane.

He woke up a few minutes before their alarm went off which gave him a moment to admire how peaceful she looked while sleeping but he also loved the fire she possessed when awake. Heading to the kitchen, he prepared their usual morning breakfast of eggs and toast and barely heard Happy walk in until she was beside him, drinking the coffee he had prepared for her. They sat quietly but comfortably at the table, Happy looking at blueprints for local buildings so she has them memorised in case of emergency and Toby, sat across from her, was currently familiarising himself with the latest psychological research concerning trauma and PTSD in both adults and children.

While they got ready, they usually discussed whatever was big in their lives at the moment, today it happened to be Walter and Paige.

“Do you think they’ll ever stop being idiots and just admit how they feel?” Toby asked, rummaging through his draw to find the shirt he wanted.

“I don’t know, is it any of our business anyway?” Happy replied, chucking him the shirt he wanted after stealing it to wear herself a few nights ago.

“Uh, it’s my business when I have to spend hours watching them make googly eyes at each other when the other isn’t looking, it’s frustrating.”

“I would have thought that after Tim was accepted back with the Navy SEALs, that Walter would have made his move”, Happy yelled back while French braiding her in the bathroom.

Toby came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “They’re missing out, I just want them to be happy, like we are”.

Happy leaned back into his embrace and hummed in agreement. She had been shocked the night he’d told Walter that this was the happiest he’d ever been but now she couldn’t agree more. “Now, if you don’t let me go, I can’t get ready and we’ll never leave the house”.

“Would that be so terrible?” Toby replied jokingly, winking at Happy. She laughed and hit him in response and left the bathroom to finish getting dressed.

While the team wasn’t currently working on any active cases, they still all came into the garage to continue with their separate projects. Sly was at his blackboard working through various math problems, Paige was filling in paperwork from their last case as the team had “accidently” destroyed a government vehicle, Walter was in the loft working on the research he had started for Megan, even though it couldn’t be used to save her, he thought he could one day help others suffering from MS, and Toby and Happy were at their desks working on their own projects but were each intermittently looking up to watch the other work. 

However, around 2pm, they received a call from Cabe, a man had entered a school and kidnapped two children, whose mother, Cara Wilkins, just so happened to be the CEO of an international banking institution but local police and the FBI had no leads and could not work out how he had walked into the school unnoticed and walked out with the children. With the man demanding $50 million in exchange for the children, Scorpion was quick to get to work.

The team eventually realised that the man had used the underground tunnel systems that ran underneath to enter and leave the school which weren’t visible on the school blueprints.

“Okay Cabe, you go to Mrs. Wilkins and explain to her what we know and try to learn if she knows of anyone who would want to target her” directed Walter. “Toby and Happy, you stay here and comb through the banks employee list and try to find anyone with reason to do this. Paige, Sly, and I will head to the tunnels and try and find any information that might tell us more about this man or where he took the children. Let’s get to work”.

The team went their separate ways to attempt to save the kids. Happy used her rudimentary hacking skills to search the company employee list while Toby used his behaviourist skills to find those who had reasons to seek this level of revenge. They finally found who they believed to be the man responsible, Connor Martel, ex-military. 

“It looks like Connor Martel was fired from his position as security guard 5 months ago due to budget cuts” Toby explained to the team over the comms. “Following this, he lost his house and family when he couldn’t find more work”.

“That’s terrible” sighed Paige.

“Yeah, and I bet that anger was made worse by the fact that 2 months ago, bank documents were leaked to the public which listed the salaries for the banks top executives, including Mrs. Wilkins. Learning how much money his bosses were earning after he was fired must have enraged him, causing him to act out”.

“I have an address!” Happy yelled out.

With no time to waste, the team left their various locations and headed to the address Happy had found for Martel. They arrived at a large farm and went off in search of Martel and the two children, Cabe and Sly searched the grounds, Toby and Happy went in the direction of the main house, and Paige and Walter explored the large barn.

"You know, this is a really nice house", Toby noticed as him and Happy were looking for any sign of the children.

"Is that really what you're thinking about right now? As we're hunting a man who stole two children?"

"I like the crown molding, sue me", Toby huffed, checking the bathroom.

"A place like this would need a lot of work but I've never been opposed to a do-up", Happy replied, noticing the features of the house for the first time.

"Maybe we should get a house together?" Toby suggested.

Happy didn't get a chance to respond as they heard calls from Paige and Walter who had found the two kids hidden under loose floorboards in the barn, tied up and gagged. Cabe and Sly had also run over to help get the children safely to the car. 

After spending a few more minutes searching, they assumed that Martel had escaped when he heard them approaching and the team started to head back towards the cars, however, Martel had been hiding in an old shed, behind some rusted oil drums and when he noticed Happy and Toby walk past the window of the shed, he stood up and fired a single shot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my medical terminology is wrong, I am sorry. My only source of information is Grey's Anatomy.

Toby doesn’t remember much. He can recall the faint screaming of the team and them running towards where he was standing and he thinks he remembers Cabe chasing after Martel but all he was focused on was Happy’s falling body and the red stain that was slowly forming on her shirt.

“Happy! Happy, look at me!” Toby yelled as he cradled an injured Happy. He noticed the blood pooling around her stomach and trying his best to remember his medical knowledge, he guesses that the bullet had hit a vital organ, which one he couldn’t tell through the tears.

“Toby…”, Happy weakly replied, turning slightly pale.

“Yeah, I’m here. Hap, you need to stay awake, can you do that for me?” cried Toby, growing frantic. He could hear sirens coming towards their location and for a split second wonders who called 911.

When the ambulance pulls up to the farm, the paramedics are quick to assess Happy’s injuries and Toby tries his best to stay calm enough to tell them what he knows. They load Happy into the back of the ambulance and Toby climbs in to ride with her, having not let go of her hand since she was shot. The team shouts that they’ll meet him at the hospital and it’s only then he realises that Cabe has caught Martel and he’s currently sitting in the back of a police car. He’s suddenly filled with rage and considers jumping out the ambulance and taking out his anger on Martel’s face but it’s beaten by his concern for Happy when she tightens her grip on his hand.

"It's okay Hap, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He says softly.

When they arrive at the hospital, Happy is quickly wheeled away on a gurney for surgery and, despite his protests, he’s forced to stay in the waiting room. 5 minutes later the team arrives and after some words of comfort for Toby, they settle into the uncomfortable chairs to wait for Happy’s doctors to give them information about her injuries.

After waiting 45 minutes, Toby stands up and heads towards the coffee machine down the hall, aware of the fact that Paige stood and followed him.

“How are you doing, you know, considering?” Paige asked, her eyes slightly red from unshed tears.

“You mean considering the love of my life has just been shot and I don’t know if I will ever be able to talk to her again or see her smile? Yeah, just peachy”. He doesn’t know if he meant for the words to sound harsh but they just come out as sad and broken.

“Well Happy has the best surgeons in the country so she’s got a strong chance of surviving this”, Paige reassures him, placing her hand on his arm.

“What do you mean?”

“On our way here, Cabe used his badge to make sure only the finest doctors would be working on Happy”.

Toby nods, trying to suppress the small glimmer of hope attempting to break through in self-preservation. He grabs his coffee and heads back into the waiting room to continue staring at the double doors.

While waiting, Toby can hear Paige trying to calm Sylvester, who with every passing hour has been growing more anxious and upset. Walter has been periodically pacing around the room, his own sign of worry, while Cabe has been on the phone with Homeland, ensuring that Martel never sees the light of day. It also appears that he called Happy’s father as Patrick enters the waiting room looking frantic and is debriefed by Paige about what happened. Toby makes a mental note to thank them when this is all finished.

It’s another 4 hours until the surgeon, Doctor Simmons, Toby notices from her badge, walks into the waiting room with news. Toby is up in a heartbeat as she walks over to them.

“Family of Happy Quinn?” She asks, Paige confirms when Toby becomes too nervous to form words.

“Miss Quinn suffered massive blood loss and it seems the bullet hit her small intestine. We were able to fix the damage however during surgery Miss Quinn went into cardiac arrest and her brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes and because of this is currently in a coma.”

Toby could feel himself unravelling, he quickly diagnosed his rapid breathing and sky rocketing heart rate as the beginnings of a panic attack and made himself sit down.

“Will she wake up?” He asked shakily, scared to know the answer.

“We do believe that she will wake up but we have no idea when, it’s now a waiting game.”

“Can we see her?” Paige asked.

“Yes, but only one at a time please.”

The team steps back and pushes Toby forward, insisting that he go and call them with any news, as they make their way out of the hospital. Room 223 the doctor had told him. Walking down the corridor had felt like the longest walk of his life but he wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he entered her room. Happy looked so small and there were least 10 tubes and wires coming out of her, he just wants to pick her up and hold her. He sits down in the chair next to her and carefully takes her hand, as if that one small movement would damage her more than the bullet already had.

He could feel the emotions bubbling up that he had tried to suppress in the waiting room. His mind starts wandering with all the possibilities.

_What if she doesn’t wake up?_

_What if her brain was without oxygen for too long?_

_Will I hear her laugh again?_

_How can I live my life without her?_

He lays his head on the mattress and lets the tears come.


	3. Chapter 3

He’s at the hospital every day. Sometimes he reads Happy his medical journals and other books to help keep her brain active, other times he sits and listens as the rest of the team visits and fills him in on their latest case. He doesn’t even leave to go home, because Paige volunteers to grab him new clothes and other items he needs whenever she’s free.

It’s now been 2 weeks to the day since Happy was shot and while he would say he’s coping well considering the circumstances, the more intuitive members of Scorpion would disagree.

“Did you see how pale he was last time we visited?” Paige asks, pouring another cup of coffee in the garage. “I wonder how much sleep he’s been getting.”

“I doubt he’s had a good night sleep since it happened and he’s obviously stopped shaving” Cabe replies, sitting down at the table with his 4th cup, he too hadn’t been sleeping well.

“While I pray to God it doesn’t happen…what are we going to do if she doesn’t make it? I mean we saw how they all reacted when Megan died, this would be even worse.”

“I guess we just have to be ready to deal with the fallout, especially with Doc.” Cabe says, patting Paige on the shoulder. “I’m going to go grab lunch, do you want any?”

“No, I’m good thanks.” Paige calls as Cabe heads towards the exit.

Up in the loft, Sly and Walter had been listening in on the conversation via the intercom.

“Do you think she’ll die?” Sly asks, wringing his hands nervously.

“The doctors say that her brain function has not been compromised and that her gunshot wound is healing nicely.” Walter responds.

“Then why isn’t she waking up?”

Walter pauses. “I don’t know”.

Back at the hospital, Toby was having one of his regular conversations with Happy. He often just talks to her about everyday things like the weather, movies that they should go see once she was better, or about how the other team members we’re doing.

“I know that you think that it’s none of our business but I think that Paige and Walter are starting to come to their senses. They’ve been touching each other a lot when they visit and maintaining eye contact for way longer than normal.” Toby says, while aimlessly rubbing his thumb along Happy’s knuckles. “Perhaps they’ve realised that life is short and no one knows what will happen tomorrow, maybe something good will come out of this.”

He’s silent for a bit, watching Happy and listening to the rhythmic beeping of the monitor.

“Hap, I need you to wake up, okay? I don’t think I can do this without you.” His plea is met with silence. “We’re supposed to spend our lives together. Buy a house, get married, have some little genius children. I don’t want to do that with anyone else but you. So please, just wake up.” He felt like crying but the past 2 weeks had drained him. So instead, he takes a deep breathe, steadies himself, and pushes back the tears.

“Do you remember when we were separated in Antarctica on that case a couple of years ago?” He says softly. “As soon as I noticed you were gone, there was nothing that would have stopped me going after you.” He squeezes her hand a little tighter at the memory, reminding himself that he found her. “I was losing hope, thinking that I may never find you, and then I kicked that stupid Quincy Burkstead book. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still my nemesis, but I hate him a little less because he helped me find you.”

An hour later, after reading Happy the latest car magazine, he hears a knock on the door.

“Hey, how is she?” Patrick asks, hesitantly making his way into the room.

“She’s doing okay. Her brain function is normal and the wound is healing. It’s now up to her to wake up.” Toby replies, as Patrick sits in the chair on the opposite side of the bed.

“And how are you?”

Toby is quiet for a moment. “I’m struggling. I keep thinking about what I’ll do if she doesn’t wake up. I am so in love with your daughter and I don’t think I want a life without her.” He states, not looking away from Happy’s face.

“I understand how you feel. All I can think about is how I wasted so much time, if only I’d never given her up, or made contact with her sooner.” Patrick sighs.

“She wouldn’t have been ready to accept you back into her life any sooner than when she did. And while she is still hurting from her childhood…” Toby replies, not missing the look of shame on Patrick’s face. “…she is glad that you and her have a relationship now.”

“Thank you, Toby. And she will wake up, she’s too stubborn to leave you behind right now.” Patrick assures, a small smile playing on his lips. Toby lets out a laugh, perhaps for the first time in weeks. They sit in silence for a while until Patrick leaves to return to his repair shop.

He loses track of time after Patrick leaves, alternating between reading and talking to Happy and sitting in silence. When he notices that it’s 1am, he unfolds the cot that the nurses had been kind enough to bring him when they realised he wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon, says goodnight to Happy, and closes his eyes, knowing that sleep will most likely evade him again tonight. He is unaware that 5 feet away from him, Happy twitches her fingers.


	4. Chapter 4

When he wakes up, he almost expects to turn over and find Happy’s sleeping form next to him, back in their apartment with the morning breeze billowing the light curtains. It takes him a moment to remember where he is and why. He opens his eyes and stares at the white, hospital ceiling tiles, there were 40 of them in Happy’s room, he’d counted on his third night here.

He uses the small ensuite bathroom in the room to freshen himself up and get dressed for the day. After saying good morning to Happy and planting a kiss on her forehead, he heads off the hospital gift store to buy any new magazines they had delivered that morning that he thinks would interest Happy.

On his walk back to Happy, he stops into the nurse station, wishing them a good morning and runs into Happy’s doctor, being informed that her condition had remained stable overnight. When he returns to the room, he places the magazines on the side table and retrieves his phone to call the garage, debriefing the team about the information relayed to him by the doctor. He removes the bedding from the cot and folds it into a corner of the room, completing the morning routine he had perfected in the past 2 weeks.

He sits down in his regular chair next to the bed, checks the monitor for any change, and mentally prepares himself for another day without Happy. He grabs her hand and brings it to his lips, squeezing it to try and send the message to her unconscious form that he is there with her.

Toby knows he needs more sleep when he thinks he feels her squeeze back. But then it happens a second time and he feels his heart skip a beat.

“Happy? Happy, can you hear me?” He pleads. Running into the hospital hall, he yells for the doctor.

“What’s going on?” Dr Simmons asks, entering the room in a hurry.

“She squeezed my hand. At first I thought I was imagining it, but I swear, it happened.” He says, as if he’s trying to convince himself.

The doctor checks over Happy, taking her hand. “Happy, can you squeeze my hand?” She instructs, stilling for a moment. “You weren’t wrong, she’s responsive. This is good sign Toby, she’s waking up.”

“Oh my God.” He sighs, falling back into the chair. “I wasn’t sure if she ever would.”

“I’ll leave you two alone, come get me if there are any more changes.”

When he’s alone, he calls the team and Patrick, relaying the good news. He’s not surprised when they turn up half an hour later, hoping to all be there when she opens her eyes. When Patrick walks in, he throws Toby a small smile and an ‘I told you so’ and goes to talk with Cabe. Paige sits in the chair beside him, resting her hand on his arm.

“I don’t think I can thank you enough for all you’ve done for me during this time.” Toby says quietly.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you would have done the same for me if I was in your position.” She assures.

“You know, the last couple of days, I was starting to doubt if she’d wake up. I should never have underestimated her.”

“It’ll happen any day now, I’m sure of it.” She stands and walks towards Ralph. “I know this is a unique situation but you still have a bedtime.”

“You should all head home. We have no idea when she’ll wake up. Go, get a good night’s sleep.” He urges. They begrudgingly agree but make him promise to call if she wakes.

Toby was still awake at 3am, he wanted to stay awake just in case Happy regained consciousness because he didn’t want her to be alone. He’s thankful he did because she starts squeezing his hand and twitching her fingers.

“I’m here, Hap.” He whispers, trying to comfort her.

He sees her eye lids start to move and there’s so much excitement in his heart that he’ll finally be able to see her eyes again. When they’re open, she turns and looks at him, he didn’t even realise her body was tense but he can see her physically relax at the sight of him.

“Toby.” She croaks out, but it’s inaudible due to inactivity of her vocal cords. She coughs and tries again. “Toby.”

“Happy.” He sighs, tears flowing freely down his face now.

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Let’s buy a house. And get married and have genius children.” She quotes him.

He doesn’t respond, choosing instead to lean over her and kiss her like he’s wanted to do a million times since she was shot. He presses the button to call for the doctor and after a quick examination, she can’t find any serious issues and leaves to let the two have some time together, informing them she’ll be back in 2 hours for another check-up.

“You’re staring, Doc.”

“That’s because you’re the most beautiful thing in the world.” He states, without a hint of humour in his tone. “I thought I’d lost you, Hap.”

“Never.” She says, as if it’s the most logical statement ever.

He decides to call the others at a decent hour, giving him and Happy time together and allowing her to prepare herself to be smothered by people who love her. Which is exactly what happens at 9am, as soon as visiting hours formally begin, but it turns out she doesn’t really care, she’s just glad to see them all again and hear about all the shenanigans they got into while she was unconscious, including the hilarious story of how Walter called Cabe dad last week.

When Happy starts to yawn, the teams excuses themselves, promising to visit again soon. They together in silence for while now that they’re alone, just appreciating the other’s presence.

“Did you mean?” He asks, suddenly.

“Did I mean what?”

“That we should buy a house, get married, and have kids?” She can tell that he’s hoping she did.

“Of course, I would suggest that we get a minister in here now and tie the knot now, but something tells me you want the big spectacle.” The look on his face confirms her statement.

“I want all the world to know that I get marry Happy Freaking Quinn.” He notices her eyes getting heavy and can feel exhaustion creeping up on him too. “Sleep. We have the rest of our lives to talk about this.”

He gets up to unfold the cot when he feels her grab his wrist.

“Lay with me.” The love in her voice makes Toby’s heart swell with emotion.

“As you wish.” He whispers, lying beside her on the bed.

She dreams of children running around their feet with her bone structure and his curly hair. She can’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there'll be one more chapter after this one, a sort of epilogue. Thanks for reading!


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!
> 
> Happy's wedding dress: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/bridal-fall-2017/reem-acra/slideshow/collection#13
> 
> Paige's bridesmaid dress: https://au.pinterest.com/pin/16044142400054417/

It had been 1 year since she was shot.

Physical therapy had been difficult but she was Happy Quinn, so she persevered and was back to full strength in 5 months, 2 months eariler than predicted by the physiotherapist, eager to continue with her life after missing so much time.

After starting the search a week after Happy was discharged from the hospital, they eventually found their perfect home; it had a large office for Toby and his books and a spacious garage for Happy to work on her motorcycle. There was even a third room that they both knew would make a wonderful nursery someday.

If Happy was being honest, she was a little surprised that Toby hadn’t proposed yet. She thought after their conversation in the hospital when she woke up, that they were on the same page, but that was over a year ago and he hadn’t mentioned it again so she decided to forget about it, they were happy right now anyway. That’s why she’s shocked when she walks into the garage one night and almost every surface is covered with candles.

“Hello?” She calls into the darkness. She sees him when she rounds the corner, standing in the middle of the candles, wearing a smart tuxedo. “What’s all this?”

“Something I have been planning since the first day I met you.” He motions for her to come stand in front of him. “I can remember in great detail the first time I realised that I loved you. It was 2 months after I had joined the team, you were out the back welding some engine parts but you thought you were alone because Walter and Collins had gone to the café down the road to dig themselves further down the rabbit hole. From my hiding spot I could see your walls drop ever so slightly and you started singing along to a Taylor Swift song playing on the radio. You looked so free and beautiful that I didn’t want to disturb you so I left.” She knows the day he’s talking about, a small blush rising on her cheeks. “And then we started working for the government and found ourselves in life threatening situations almost weekly. Every time you were hurt or almost died, it just strengthened the knowledge that I loved you and wanted us to be together. You finally took a chance on us that Christmas Eve and I’ve never been happier than when we kissed on that beach. You’re the love of my life, and almost losing you last year has shown me that we shouldn’t waste any time.” She crying as he bends down on one knee.

“Happy Quinn, you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, will you do me the honour of marrying me?”

“Yes.” She says, quickly nodding her head.

He stands up, slides the engagement ring onto her finger, and dips her down to kiss her, wanting her to know just how much he loves her.

“Did you consider how time consuming this part would be?” She asks as they make their way around the large garage, trying to extinguish all the candles.

“I’ll be honest, I did not.” He’s slightly out of breath and they still have half the room to blow out.

They end up turning the task into a game, dividing the room up and seeing who could finish first. When Toby wins, she blames all the exercise his mouth gets talking 24/7 and he makes a suggestive comment about her loving his mouth last night. They make their way home, not once unlinking their hands.

Happy has only just locked the door when Toby lifts her up and crushes her lips with his own. She wraps her legs around his waist and savours the moment of pure love between them.

“Where are we going?” She asks as he starts walking them down the hall, his lips never once leaving her skin.

“I am going to make sweet love to my fiancé.” He announces, the smile on his face causing her heart to skip a beat.

She rolls her eyes but smiles nonetheless. “I like the sound of that.”

“The sex part or the fiancé part?”

“Both. Definitely both.” She brings her lips back to his and she thanks her lucky stars that she met him.

* * *

 

Toby should have known by now that Happy was full of surprises, but when they start planning their wedding, he’s shocked when she takes the lead and becomes interested in table centrepieces and seating arrangements. Of course he never voices this surprise, afraid of the wrath she would unleash upon him. Today, Happy and Paige were going dress shopping for both their gowns. As Paige was Happy’s only female friend, she had asked her to be maid of honour, a position Paige was taking very seriously.

“Okay, our appointment at the bridal shop is at 2, so if we want to make it on time we should leave now, LA traffic is always so unpredictable.” Paige orders, not once looking up from the planner she had bought to keep track of all the wedding details.

“Bye sweetheart.” Toby whispers, kissing Happy’s cheek. “I can’t wait to see what dress you pick out.”

“You will be seeing the dress on the wedding day like everyone else.” Paige yells as they walk out the garage, giving Toby a look that says _I dare you to defy me_. She had become a little scary during this planning phase.

Happy had no idea of the dress she wanted walking into the store. Her only comment to the sales woman was that she didn’t want anything too over the top, nothing with an unreasonable circumference, and absolutely nothing with a train, with the nerves she knew that she would have on the day, she didn’t need a tripping hazard.

She had already tried on 5 dresses with no success and was starting to lose hope when Paige made a suggestion.

“Do you mind if I let the woman know what I think would be the perfect dress for you?”

“Sure, I mean we haven’t had much luck so far with my limited preferences.” She was starting to get a little annoyed at this whole process but tried not to let that show.

Paige walked over to woman currently searching the racks and whispered in her ear.

“I have a dress that matches that description perfectly.” She hurried off to a room behind the store and returned with a black dress bag. The woman helped Happy into the dress and zipped her up, walking her back out into the showroom where Paige was waiting excitedly with her glass of champagne.

“Oh. My. God.” Paige says, putting down the glass.

“Is it good?” Happy asks worriedly.

“Why don’t you look for yourself?” The sales woman leads her towards the mirror and Happy can’t believe her eyes.

It’s as if the dress is made for her, every single piece fits perfectly and she can feel herself start to well up at the sight of it. “This is the one.” She announces, turning back to Paige who is now also crying.

Once they’ve chosen Paige’s dress, they decide to head to a bar down the street to celebrate.

“So how are you feeling now that the big day is only a few weeks away?” Paige questions, taking a sip of her ridiculous cocktail.

“I thought that I would be nervous.” Happy admits, drinking her less outlandish gin and tonic. “But I’m just excited. I get to marry my soulmate, that’s pretty cool.”

“That’s beautiful, Happy, you’re so lucky.”

“Well you’ll be next. I’m very interested to see what a Walter proposal will be.”

“You may not ever know, this is Walter we’re talking about.” Paige looks sadly at her drink, stirring it with her straw.

“It will happen. I’ve known Walter for a long time and he’s never loved anything the way he loves you. Not even Ferret Bueller.” The two girls laugh and after Paige drops Happy back at the garage to retrieve her car, they both head home to their respective geniuses.

* * *

 

Paige forces them apart the night before their wedding, making Toby stay in a hotel down on the other side of town from the venue where Happy is staying. They’ve decided to have their wedding at a small but beautiful vineyard just outside the city, only inviting close family and friends.

Apparently wake-up call is 6am on the big day, as Paige barges into her room, dresses and makeup bags pilled in her arms. Happy had decided to do her own hair and makeup, not wanting to look like a stranger on the most important day of her life. With the wedding in 6 hours, they start getting ready at 8am at Paige’s insistence. Happy is sitting in a chair with rollers piled on her head as Paige works on curling her own hair.

“Have you spoken to Toby?” Happy asks, sipping her coffee.

“No, but I spoke to Sylvester and they are all up and getting ready.” Toby had gone against convention and decided to make Walter and Sylvester co-best man while Ralph was ring bearer and Cabe had been asked to become ordained to officiate the wedding.

"Do you think he's getting cold feet?" She's a little worried he might change his mind.

"Happy." Paige says, coming to kneel in front of her chair, grabbing her hands and squeezing them. "A few weeks back, Toby and I were alone in the garage so we decided to watch some television. During an episode of _Friends,_ he turned to me and said 'Happy Quinn is my lobster, we'll be 90 years old and still holding claws'." Paige laughs at the memory. "So the only way that Toby isn't going to be waiting for you at that altar is if someone kills him, I promise."

She understands the references and can't help but smile, her worries vanishing.

The rest of the preparation seemed to fly by, and before she knew it, Happy was standing in her dress, hair and makeup done, looking at herself in the floor length mirror.

“Wow.” She heard a voice behind her say, turning to see her father standing at the door, tears in his eyes. “You look beautiful. Toby is one lucky man.”

“Thank you, Dad” She tried to keep the tears at bay for the sake of her eye makeup but was struggling.

“You ready to get this show on the road?” He asks, extending his arm for her.

She takes it and they walk down the hall to door that will lead them outside where Paige is waiting.

“You look stunning.” She says, looking just as amazing in her own silver, off the shoulder dress that hangs off her body like it’s made of water.

The music starts and it’s Paige’s cue to walk down the aisle, and even from inside, Happy can picture the look on Walter’s face as he sees his gorgeous girlfriend. While lost in her own thoughts, Patrick squeezes her arms, a questioning look in his eyes asking _are you ready?_ She gives a quick nod and they begin their journey towards the altar.

“Holy crap.” Toby whispers when he catches a glimpse of Happy.

She’s wearing a strapless dress with an intricate lace bodice and a silk, full length skirt. She looks gorgeous and Toby can’t contain his emotions any longer, letting tears pool in his eyes and he watches the love of his life make her way towards him.

“Hi.” She says excitedly as she comes to stand beside him.

He takes her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. “You look stunning.”

She blushes as they turn to face Cabe.

“We are gathered here today for a wedding we all knew was eventually going to happen. It didn’t take a genius to work out how Toby felt about Happy and while she was a little less obvious with her feelings, you could tell she cared for him too.” Cabe announces, looking at the two lovebirds in front of him with pride. “I’ve never told these guys this, but I thought I would share with you all the first time I knew that Happy and Toby we’re meant for each other. We had just finished a particularly hard case and everyone was feeling a little on edge. Toby, being the resident shrink, was trying to force Happy to express her emotions, which ended in the Doc receiving a wrench thrown over his head. It wasn’t until later that night when I rounded a corner and saw them both standing with their foreheads together, linking hands, and quietly talking. Toby brought their conjoined hands up to his lips to kiss the back of hers and she leaned into his chest. It was such a sweet moment that I felt guilty interrupting it so I never made my presence known. But I knew that there was nothing on earth that was going to separate these two people and I’m glad I was right.” As Cabe finished his speech, Happy could see Paige crying out the corner of her eye.

“Now, I believe it is time for vows. The couple has decided to write their own. Toby, why don’t you start us off?” They turned to face each other, Happy for the first time appreciating his black suit with silver tie, the same colour as Paige’s dress.

“Happy Freaking Quinn.” He starts, pausing for the giggle from the guests. “Had you told me when we first met that we would one day be getting married, I would have diagnosed you as clinically insane, especially considering our first encounter involved you punching me in the ribs when I wouldn’t leave you alone. But through the pain, I was intrigued by you and thus began the many years of admiration which turned into a crush which turned into love. Happy, you are the greatest person I have ever met. You are strong but gentle, you are tough but kind, you are incredibly intelligent but also incredibly cuddly.” There is more laughter from behind them. “You make me a better man and while I am absolutely certain that you are way out of my league, I will spend every day of the rest of our lives trying to thank you for loving a wreck like me.” He slides the ring onto her finger.

“Happy?” Cabe says, indicating it’s her turn.

“Toby. I am not as good with words as you are but I’m going to give it my best shot. You always say that I saved you; that I saved you from the gambling and the drinking, but the truth is you saved me. I was angry and alone but because of my past, I thought that was all I was destined for. And then Walter brought in this annoying shrink with a silly hat.”

“Hey, don’t diss the hat.” He interrupts but quickly silences himself after the glare she sends him.

“As I was saying. You walked into my life and it was like you were determined to change everything. Day by day, you started breaking down the walls I had built up until one day I realised how ridiculous they were. To be honest, it snuck up on me. We had only been dating for a couple of months and we were just sitting on the couch, watching some Disney film you had put on and it hit me: I was in love with you. I loved your smile, the way I felt in your presence, how you would always bring me coffee in the morning and we would lie in bed together reading newspapers and journal articles. I knew that I was all in and that you were my future. You say you want to spend every day thanking me, I just want to spend every day making you as happy as you have made me.” She slides the ring onto his finger, seeing her own excitement mirrored on his face.

“Toby. From this day onward, do you choose Happy to be your wife, your best friend, and your only love? To live together, play together, and laugh together. To work by her side, to fill her heart, and to always seek out the best in her. Loving her with all your heart, until the end of your forever?” Cabe asks.

“I do.”

“And Happy…”

“I do.” Everyone laughs at her impatience.

“Okay, well then, by the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Toby, you may kiss your excited bride.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, closing the distance between them and kissing her for the first time as a married couple.

* * *

 

Their reception is small but full of energy. Toby and Happy can’t stop smiling at each other and their hands haven’t lost contact since the ceremony. They sit and listen as Paige makes her speech, both tearing up when she reminds them of the major milestones in their relationship. Walter and Sly’s joint speech is more comedic, whether or not that was intentional, as they both try and explain love in a mathematical and scientific way, but when they talk about their own love, for Paige and Megan, there’s not a dry eye in the room.

When it comes time for their first dance, Happy rests her head on Toby’s chest as they sway to the bands version of Can’t Help Falling in Love.

“Thank you.” He whispers into the top of her head.

She looks up at him. “What for?”

“For loving me back.”

“Thank you for waiting.”

As he looks down at the gorgeous woman he just married, he can’t believe his luck.

As she leans further into his chest, she knows she’s found her home.


End file.
